With Spring’s arrival and the weather getting warmer, now is the perfect time to join one of YouthSERVE’s monthly beach clean-ups at Main Beach in Santa Cruz. In January, we hosted a beach clean-up that just so happened to take place the day after the tsunami warning in Santa Cruz. The waves had washed up so much debris that volunteers were able to collect a total of over 61 pounds of trash. We are so thankful to our community for showing our beaches some much needed TLC after the minor tsunami. It brought a smile to my face to see parents and their children working as a team and getting their young ones involved in the community at a young age. We are very lucky to call Santa Cruz our home and it is extremely rewarding to be able to contribute to the beauty by keeping the beach a safe and clean place for children and wildlife.
For young people who have a passion for reducing waste in the ocean, you can join a YouthSERVE beach clean-up specifically for teens. This is a great chance to enjoy the outdoors and socialize while making a positive impact on the environment. We like to break groups up into teams and make it a competition, who can collect the most trash? At the end of the 2 hour clean-up we weigh all the bags of trash and give out prizes. This gives teens a small incentive to put in that extra effort and leave the beach spotless!
If you are an adult that wants to volunteer, you can join us as a YouthSERVE volunteer leader or you can join a clean-up with CitySERVE by contacting Malia Yamashiuta myamashita@cityofsantacruz.com, (831) 420-5403
Check out our website to learn more and join the next YouthSERVE beach clean-up!
This blogpost was written by Rachel Tate who leads weekly volunteer projects for middle school and high schools students. If you are interested in volunteering you can contact Rachel to connect to opportunities for youth: ys@scvolunteercenter.org, (831) 427-5070
